Letters to the Editor: Men should speak up for Roe v. Wade

Abortion rights not just a women's

issue. Men should speak up, too

Re: May 16 commentary, "Overturning Roe could be hellish for men, too"

Finally! Some acknowledgement that men have benefited from safe, legal abortions.

It’s great to see so many men (mostly young) marching at the pro-choice rallies, but here’s my question: Where are the older, financially comfortable, successful family men – not to mention the rich, famous and powerful ones – who should be speaking out about how their lives were positively impacted because their partners had access to abortion? Where are all the congressmen testifying, as many congresswomen have done, about how having that choice when they were younger allowed them to be where they are today?

Where are all the letters to the editor, Facebook posts and tweets from men grateful they had the option not to become parents before they were ready for that enormous responsibility? This is not just a women’s issue. Men must speak up now and tell their stories. Your voices – or your silence – could make all the difference.

Pat Grigadean, Austin

Are we experiencing the impact

of GOP denial of climate change?

Re: May 15 article, "ERCOT urges Texans to cut back on power usage over weekend."

Because it is May in Texas, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas is warning consumers that there may not be enough power to keep our air conditioners running.

While this sounds like the setup for a bad joke, it raises the question, are we experiencing the concrete consequences of decades of Republican denial of climate change?

While May is on track to be the hottest May on record, higher than normal temperatures in summer (and colder than normal temperatures in winter) are consistent with climate change predictions.

Given we lack the political leadership to ensure Texas has reliable generation it is up to consumers who have the ability to install solar and standby generation to protect our apparently aged and decrepit grid from melting down.

Brendan Boerner, Cedar Park

Buffalo mass shootings red flags?

We're ignoring ones from the GOP.

Recently, I heard on the radio that investigators were looking into “red flags” in the Buffalo mass shooter’s history, as if warning signs could have stopped this senseless tragedy, if only someone had paid attention.

Why are we ignoring the “red flags” that are everywhere in our country, coming from right-wing media and Republican politicians, like Elise Stefanik and Ron DeSantis, among others?

Influential voices like these loudly and constantly trumpet the very talking points, like the “great replacement theory,” espoused in the shooter’s white supremacist diatribe.

There is no mystery here. We are seeing the symptoms of a grave societal sickness that will prove to be terminal if we don’t diagnose and excise it from our nation, once and for all. We must all be part of the cure, or we will succumb to its evil.

Diana Spain, Austin

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin American-Statesman Letters to the Editor: May 22, 2022